A wireless access node that is used by wireless devices to communicate with a wireless network has a limited amount of bandwidth to allocate among connected wireless devices. This limited bandwidth is allocated by assigning a wireless access link (or channel) to each wireless device that needs to exchange communications. A dormancy timer in the access node tracks the amount of time since a wireless device last exchanged communications so that, when a certain amount of time has passed, the access node can release the access link for that device. Once released, the access link can be assigned to other wireless devices that need to exchange communications with the access node. Allowing the access link to stay allocated to a wireless device for a time after communications have completed enables subsequent communications to be exchanged without the need to reallocate an access link to the wireless device.
Many wireless devices are capable of executing applications that require the use of an access link for wireless communications. Sometimes these applications will run in the background where a user is not actively interacting with the application and sometimes they will run in the foreground where a user is actively interacting with the application. When a user is actively interacting with an application it is more likely that an application will exchange subsequent communications over an access link than would an application running in the background. Thus, the user experience of an application running in the foreground may benefit from not needing to take the time necessary to have a new access link allocated to the wireless device in order to exchange subsequent communications.
Overview
A wireless communication device determines user interface activity initiated by a user application. The wireless communication device determines a timer setting based on the user interface activity initiated by the user application. The wireless communication device wirelessly transfers the timer setting to a wireless communication network. The wireless communication device exchanges wireless communications initiated by the user application with the wireless communication network. The wireless communication network uses a dormancy timer based on the user interface activity initiated by the user application.